Gianandrea Barreca

Architect, born in Genoa (1969). Expert in building and architectural design, with particular regard to the morphological and compositional themes of the architectural project, always related to the relationship with the context, sustainability and natural elements.

Since 2004 he has collaborated with the Domus Academy of Milan, a post-graduate school of II level, part of the Laureate International Universities; from 2006 to 2012 he was Director of the Master in Urban Vision and Architectural Design, and from 2013 to 2018 he is Scientific Advisor of the Design Cluster. From J2015 to 2017 he is part of the prestigious Domus Academy Metaphysical Club, which involves some of the most important and innovative personalities of the international cultural world. Since 2009 he is a contract professor in architectural composition at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Genoa, and from 2015 to 2018 to the Italian-Chinese Curriculum of the Engineering Faculty of the University of Pavia. From 1998 to 2004 he was responsible for the Villard designing seminar at the University of Genoa. In 2014 he is responsible for two semesters of the “Pre-Pro” program at Syracuse University in Florence.

In 1993 he was one of the founding members of Gruppo a12, with whom he promoted and realized seminars, research, exhibitions, installations on the contemporary urban condition and in particular on the relationship between urban context and public art. Gruppo a12 has created and exhibited works for: Zkm of Karlsruhe 1999, 7th and 9th and 11th Biennial of Architecture in Venice, Biennial of Contemporary Art in Ljubljana 2000, Museum PS1 in New York 2001, Cca of Kitakyushu Japan 2002, Biennale Art of Shanghai 2002, 50th edition of the Venice Art Biennale 2003, Kroller-Muller Museum in Otterlo Netherlands 2004, Istanbul Art Biennial 2005, Busan Biennale (South Korea) 2006, Barbican Gallery in London 2009, Museum MaGa Gallarate 2012, the Milan Triennale 2014. He worked for a long time for exhibitions and research work with Pittimmagine Discovery.

He started his professional activity in 1995 and in 1999, with Giovanni La Varra and Stefano Boeri, he founded Boeri Studio. In January 2008, together with Giovanni La Varra, he set up the Barreca & La Varra professional studio. On December 21th, 2018 he was appointed as member of the Technical-Scientific Committee for Contemporary Art and Architecture of Mibac.

Gianandrea Barreca is also curator of several publications that collect work and research carried out with the Domus Academy, such as Canton Ticino: territory of a new modernity (3 editions) and New water anthropology, a collection of studies on the relationship between architecture and water, theme of particular interest in his research and project activities.

Giovanni La Varra

Architect, born in Milan (1967). He has a PhD in territorial planning.

Since 2014 he is Associate Professor of Architectural Design at the University of Udine. He has taught Urban Composition and Planning at the Faculty of Architecture of the Milan Polytechnic, and Urban Planning at the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy at the University of Milan. The research activity at the Milan Polytechnic has seen its participation as a coordinator in the research relating to the Metrobosco project (promoted by the Province of Milan), to the research in Milan. Chronicles of living (Bruno Mondadori, 2007) and the feasibility study for the recovery of the Sant’Elia district in Cagliari (on behalf of AREA, Cagliari). He edited the exhibition Post It City, a research on the temporary and self-organized forms of use of public space, promoted by the Center of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (CCCB catalog 2008). With the research agency Multiplicity it has promoted and implemented research and installations on the contemporary urban condition, as USE-Uncertain States of Europe (a survey on the future of the European territory exposed to Bordeaux 2000, Brussels 2001, Tokyo 2002, Milan 2002) and Solid Sea (a research on the Mediterranean presented at Documenta XI-Kassel 2002 and exhibited in Vienna, Berlin and Rotterdam).

He started his professional activity in 1994 and in 1999, with Gianandrea Barreca and Stefano Boeri, he founded Boeri Studio. In January 2008, together with Gianandrea Barreca, he founded the professional studio Barreca & La Varra. From 2009 to 2011 he was part of the Expo2015 Milan plan office.

He has published articles, essays and reviews on Casabella, Domus, Abitare, Territory, Urban Planning, Il Sole 24 ore, Urbanistica quaderni, Paesaggio urban and Arch’it. In 2012 he published the novel Case minime (Robin publisher). From 2013 to 2014 he is the editor of the Italian compilation on Abitare online, and from 2015 he is deputy editor of the magazine Viceversa. In 2016 he edited the volume Architecture of urban regeneration. Projects attempts, strategies, published by Forum (Udine).